Carb cycling is the foundation of what I do every day and with every client. I know through years of experience with many different clients that carb cycling works, so I’m going to introduce you to the basics and the five different carb cycling plans—Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit, and Extreme. I’m stripping it down to the basics to get you started:
What is Carb Cycling + How Does it Work?
Carb cycling is an eating plan with alternating high carb and low carb days. It’s that simple. It also has built-in reward days or reward meals (depending on the plan you’re following), so you can still eat your favorite foods on a regular basis. Sounds pretty much perfect, right? You can eat healthy foods, enjoy foods you love, and still lose weight.
While each plan has a different mix of high carb and low carb days, each day works basically the same:
- Eat five meals—no more, no less.
- Eat breakfast within 60 minutes of waking or whenever your feeding window opens if you’re an intermittent faster.
- For breakfast, you’ll eat a portion of protein, carbs, and fat.
- For your next 3 meals (snack, lunch, snack), you’ll eat either a low or high carb meal depending on which day you’re on. So, if you’re on a low carb day, those three meals will be low carb. If you’re on a high carb day, those three meals will be high carb.
- Your last meal of the day will ALWAYS be a low carb meal. Always.
- Choose approved foods.
- Drink ½ your body weight in ounces of water every day. So, if you weigh 150 lbs, you’ll drink 75 ounces a day.
How Does Carb Cycling Work?
Carb cycling is based on the right combination of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats. In order to lose weight, our bodies need the right combination. Here’s why:
- Protein builds and maintains muscles and these muscles burn calories like an inferno. Protein also breaks down more slowly than carbs and fat, which burns even more calories and helps you feel fuller longer.
- Carbs are the preferred fuel source for your muscles and organs, and they come in healthy versions (vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes), and not-so-healthy versions (cakes, cookies, soda, doughnuts, candy, and many processed foods). Healthy carbs are also crucial for burning calories, and since they break down more slowly than those not-so-healthy carbs, they keep your blood sugar and energy levels steady, and they also keep your calorie-burning furnace hot so it burns more calories!
- Healthy fats (unsaturated fats) eaten in moderation help the development and function of your eyes and brain and help prevent heart disease, stroke, depression, and arthritis. Healthy fats also help keep your energy levels steady and keep you from feeling hungry.
Why do we alternate high carb + low carb days in carb cycling?
On high carb days you’re stocking your calorie-burning furnace so that on low carb days your furnace burns fat, and lots of it! This pattern tricks your metabolism into burning a lot of calories, even on those low carb days. It’s an amazing and well-proven process.
What are the Benefits of Carb Cycling?
Carb cycling has many benefits:
- It fits any lifestyle.
- You’ll learn how to shed weight and body fat and how to make smart lifestyle choices for the rest of your life. This puts YOU in control.
- You’ll feel better and have more energy.
- You’ll eat the foods you love.
- You’ll build lean, strong muscles.
- You’ll be empowered physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
I’ve only skimmed the surface of carb cycling, so learn more about our five carb cycling plans to find your ideal cycle, and let’s get cycling!
Get even more information on carb cycling in both or our books: Extreme Transformation (the newest edition to our carb cycline lineup featuring the Extreme Cycle) and Choose More, Lose More for Life (which features our other four cycles).
If you’d like some help creating your own meals, there’s a handy “Create Your Own Meals” chart in this post! To get a customized cycle for you and your goals + several workout programs (from gym-based to bodyweight to dance) + the all-important life lessons (the key to long-term transformation), check out The Transform App.
Note: If you’ve been carb cycling using our book, Choose Lose More, Lose More for Life, you’ll notice that we’ve changed a couple of things since that book was published: You now include a fat for breakfast, and every final meal of the day is a low carb meal. Like with a lot of things in life, the more you do them, the more you learn about how to do them even better!
xo,
1,381 Responses
I really don’t understand this plan. First I don’t think I am use to eating this many calories which maybe my reason for not loosing weight. How within the 5 times you eat the portions do you fit them in your hands measurement wise and accumulate 1200 and 1500 calories. Am I missing something here? I can’t get to this calorie in take. Am I making sense?
Hi Wendy: If you’re having trouble hitting those calorie recommendations, there is a 100 calorie chart in “Choose More, Lose More for Life” that can help you put your meals together to achieve those daily calories. Using the portion guides also works, especially since you’re eating 5 meals a day. You can do this!
What foods are considered healthy fats?
Hi Wendy: Great question! Chris and Heidi recommend nuts, all-natural nut butters, oils (fish, flaxseed, and olive), cheeses, mayonnaise, seeds, avocado, olives, butter, and some others. I hope that helps!
Okay so on low carb day for morning snack its protein and fat. I had almonds and a few slices of sharp cheddar cheese. According to your comment that would actually be two fats right? What should I consider a low fat protein then confused?
Hi Wendy: Yes, you are correct. Both cheese and almonds are fats. Choose one of these and pair it with a protein (lean meats, protein powders, nonfat/low-fat Greek yogurts, egg whites, low-fat cottage cheese, etc.), and you’re good to go!
Does it matter which days are high carb/low carb? It sounds like it should be tailored to my schedule. For example my heaviest days are T/Wed/Th/F Sat/Sun rest Mon light. So I should high carb the 4 heavy days low carb 2 days and make 1 day a reward day. Should I low carb Sat/Mon and Reward day Sun? Also, reward day? Unclear as to how many calories, macro % on this day or are you saying to throw it all out the window in this day and do what you feel?
Hi Jami: All of the carb cycles take into account your workouts, but if you find that you need to adjust the schedule, do your hardest workouts on high carb days. And you can totally follow the schedule you’ve suggested in your comment, just be sure to keep the HC and LC days in the order as outlined. For your reward day, you’ll eat up to 1000 extra calories, so 2500 total for that day. You’re welcome to track these calories if you’d like to, but you don’t need to follow any specific macro percentages. Hope that helps!
Hello, I’ve been scouring through your articles and book. With the information I’ve read and the calculators I’ve used in confused what my intakes sound be. I’m a46yo female. I weigh 179 and am 5’4. Right now I am moderately active at the gym but would like to get better. I am looking for what my protein, carb and fat intakes/macros should be for my low carb/ high carb days. I was looking at trying the turbo plan. I was looking into the extreme plan but I’m not sure which would be better for me. Could you please help me on this? Thank you…
Hi Connie: Chris and Heidi have figured out all of your macros for you in all of their cycles, which makes things super simple! I’d do the Extreme Cycle, and here’s a post that outlines several meal prep options for this cycle as well as a “Create Your Own Meals” chart that can help you put your own meals together: https://heidipowell.net/10617. Just remember that each gram of protein or carb = 4 calories, and each gram of fat = 9 calories. Hope this helps!
Heidi,
Ive been working out for the past 2 month 4 days a week. I am down 7 lbs and several inches but i have felt my diet needs to be tweaked. I am interested in starting the TURBO CYCLE but I am worried about having 4 low carb days. I suffer from gout and struggle to get lower carb days in when I worry about setting off my gout due to potential higher protein days. I know what foods to eat in moderation but do you think the TURBO CYCLE is a good plan for me?
Hi Kelly: I’d do what is best for you medically, and if you’re worried about the two low carb days in a row, you can try the Easy, Classic, or Fit Cycles, and you’ll do great!
If Im using an app, like MyFitnessPal, to track macros and caloric intake would the non-root, non-starchy vegetables be deducted from my daily allowance of macros and calories?
Hi Michael: You’ll want to track everything you eat – it keeps you accountable. And these types of veggies really don’t carry a big calorie load. We wish you the best!
Hi team powell,
Can I still follow the plan if I’m vegetarian. Will swapping meats for tofu or lentils effect whether it falls into proteins or cards? Any help would be appreciated.
Kind regards,
Chris
Hi Chris: Yes, it can still work for you! Here are some vegetarian options: Soy protein sources such as tofu and tempeh and other vegetarian protein options such as hemp, bean, and pea protein. You can do this!
I am very interested in learning more about carb cycling. I have about 35 lbs left to loose and really struggling. I keep yoyoing back and forth and its starting to frustrate me. I should say I have already lost 80 lbs.
What I am curious about is how many calories a day to consume during both low carb and high carb days.
Is there a guidline somewhere I could follow? Also what is the percentage of macros for both low and high carb days?
Hi Angie: For the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles, women eat 1200 cals on low carb days and 1500 cals on high carb days. For the Extreme Cycle, women eat around 1500 cals/day. And congratulations on losing 80 pounds – that’s awesome! 🙂
What would you recommend for someone that works Midnight shifts and wants to carb cycle. Also how do you suggest one decreases/increases macros on high and low carb days. For example if the default macro count percentages are 40:20:40 (Carbs:Fats:Proteins) how would these numbers change on a high carb day and a low carb day.
Hi Michael: Here’s a post that can help you figure out how to structure your meals on a crazy schedule: https://heidipowell.net/10556. And if you’re following one of Chris and Heidi’s carb cycling plans, they’ve figured out all of your macros for you for both low and high carb days. You just need to follow your chosen carb cycle, and you’ll be good to go! You can totally do this!
Hi so sorry I also forgot to ask.. I would like for Sunday to be my reset day since this is my day off from the gym and our family day.. I started your extreme cycle on Tuesday so my rest day shouldn’t be till Monday. How do I change my days of high and low without screwing things up?
Also is it ok to be on a low carb day on a leg day with 30-45min of cardio after? I ask because the extreme cycle will have me on a low carb day on a day I weight train doing legs for a hour followed by 30/45 min of cardio after.. thankyou so much again!
Hi April: No problem! Make Sundays your Reset Day/Day 7, then begin Day 1 on Mondays. And you should be okay to do legs/cardio on a low carb day, but if you find it’s not working, then move your leg day to a high carb day. 🙂